The Importance of Skincare
This may be the closest I will ever come to sounding like a hypocrite. (I go to carbeaters anonymous and while I know they are metabolically horific, they are also tasty, so I fully admit my failings in that department.) Good skincare is more important that all the fanncy stuff we can offer in the aesthetics business. The vast majority of the age on our face is secondary to not using enough suncreen. I am guilty as charged. In fairness to me, I’m not sure there is actually enough sunscreen in the world to keep me from getting burned and there for sure was not in the early 1990s. I feel I was constantly chased around with sunscreen - and then spent alot of time getting aloe applied any time we went to the beach for a day - and since Grandma and my Godparents both lived at the beach … guess where we went alot. It’s part of why I rarely go to beach before sunset even though I’ve lived within 5 miles of it for almost 7 years. (aside, omg, it will by seven years in March, where has the time gone.) So, I am finally trying to make some profound change in my 40s (and laser off my teens and 20s) and just like I’m taking diet far more seriously these days, I am also doing my nightly and morning routine.
Enough about me already, lets get to you. I haven’t met you or seen your skin, but there are some universal truths we have to go on. If you could only buy one product for your face, it should be a mineral suncrean (unless you live underground, in which case, I’d go with vitamin C). Sun is by far and away the most damaging thing we expose our face to. A mineral sunscreen is the best way to protect your face. Look for the words zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Avoid words that end in benzone. Why mineral? it’s better. Don’t you love helpful answers like that? Mineral sunscreen is more protective and there are some concerns about what the chemical sunscreens do to the dna in your skin. Mineral suncreens are generally not irritating to rosacea prone or sensitive skin.
Gentle cleanser - nonfoaming. Don’t you love a good sudsy cleaner that you can see doing something? You might, but your face doesn’t. Suds don’t equal better cleaning. They equal stripping of natural oils out of your skin that can leave your super dry. The one exception is that if you are a total greaseball, you might need this. You also don’t need to routinuely use an abrasive skin cleaning device. Gentle is our watchword.
After sunscreen, the most important tool we have is stuff that starts with retin-. Retinoids are vitamin A derivatives that have the power to both treat acne and prevent the formation of fine lines and wrinkles. You can get retinol over the counter and it’s generally not teribbly expensive. For people who need more help, there is a stronger rx version (most use tretinoin) and it is our biggest bank for our buck.
The next most important is Vitamin C. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and does great things for improving the skin. It protects/prevents/restores DNA damage from environmental exposure (sun and pollution), boosts collagen productions, prevents/improves wrinkles, lightens dark spots and generally gives skin a brighter appearance. To this point, you can get everything at a drug store and spend very little. If I start selling skin care, obviously, you will need to buy it only from me, but until then … Vitmain C is where that stops. Vitamin C is an inherently unstable compound and can’t sit on the shelf for years in a cream unless you either mix it with stinky stuff or do some expenseive treatment to it. This is why vitamin C serums are rather expensive. If you are getting a cheap one, it’s almost certainly not doing anything by the time it gets on your face. The same is also true of Vitamin C capsules and part of why I love IV therapy to replenish vitamin C. You get alot of antioxidant boost in the skin when doing it IV as well and it’s why we put vitamin C in the Perfet Tox IV that we use for botox clients and club members.
Let’s talk peptides. Peptides can be fantastic for antiaging and helping improve wrinkles, crepey skin and dullness. That said, you have to trust your brand. If something does 17 different things, theres a good chance it doesn’t so any of them well. I know the person who designed the peptides I use and she seems pretty honest to me. And her hubby is a drug cop, so I know who to call if it’s fake. I also think they seem to be working and my skin has never looked better - but I’ve also never taken this much time to lovingly tend to my face. This goes in the category of nice to have, but only when your credit cards are paid off and your 401k is maxed.
If you have rosacea, this is a good time for azaleic acid or topical metronidazole or topical ivermectin or niacinamide or, something to soothe that redness. Again, this is great, suncreen is better. These drugs require regular routine use (like every day) and there are some things like the tiny blood vessels that can pop up as we age that need to be lasered off because no amount of topic anything is going to help.
Finally - yeah, we’re almost done - lets get to moisturizing. As a thicker emollient product, moisturizer should come last. Generally, there’s not alot to say, other than you should use it because plumper, hydrated skin doesn’t have as many wrinkles.
Well folks, here’s the easy way out. I hate telling you because if you are really awesome with the skincare you may not need my services as much. Also, make sure you bring all that skincare down onto the decolletage. The neck generally ages faster than the face, so don’t make the gap even bigger by ignoring the face. Microneedling the neck (and maybe the face too) can be a great way to keep the neck from giving you away when your face is nice and youthful and your neck a little leathery.
If you missed the boat on good skin care in your 20s and 30s, don’t worry. Start doing better today and lets see you for a consultation.